In 2015, Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado set an all-time major league record for extra-base hits by a third baseman. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post)

My BFFs on Twitter had a grand time bashing me for my NL MVP voting. That’s fine, we’re all entitled to our opinions — even beat writers who cover the Rockies.

Like everyone else, I voted for the Nationals’ Bryce Harper as my No. 1. The 23-year-old’s incredible season made him the youngest unanimous MVP in baseball history.

Harper beat out fellow finalists Paul Goldschmidt of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds for the award. He tallied 420 points to finish 186 points ahead of Goldschmidt, who finished second. Please remember that we cast our votes before the three finalists were revealed.

Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado finished eighth, about where I thought he would finish. I knew he wouldn’t make the top five, though I believe he should have.

For the record, Arenado was third on my ballot. I was one of four writers to pick him third. Why did I do it?

Rockies right fielder Carlos Gonzalez says he’s happy in Denver, but his name is sure to come up during trade discussions this winter. (Doug Pensinger, Getty Images)

I was trolling big-league waters for possible trades that would bring pitching to Colorado when I netted an interesting article from Paul Hoynes, the respected baseball writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

“To get the hitter they need, the Indians are going to have to trade one of their top starters — Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar or Trevor Bauer. Or they could deal young starter Cody Anderson along with a prospect like Bradley Zimmer or Clint Frazier.”

The Rockies have two players who might fit the Indians’ needs: Outfielders Carlos Gonzalez and Corey Dickerson. The Rockies need quality pitching and they are going to have to give up something valuable to get it. Could the Indians be a legitimate trade partner?

The things I took into account: the architecture and beauty of the park; the physical setting and how it fits into a city; maintenance and upkeep; scoreboards; fan involvement and intensity; and the overall general vibe of the ballpark.

Since I don’t eat at the concessions stands very often, I am not including ballpark food as a major part of my criteria.

Without further ado, my list of National League ballparks, from worst to first:

Chase Field. (AP)

15. Chase Field, Arizona Diamondbacks: I understand why they need a roof in the desert, but Chase Field feels like a big, dusty warehouse. The grass is thin and pale green. The in-game announcements/advertisements are too loud, too many and jarring.

Fans don’t generate much noise and although the downtown area has improved and is pretty, it’s not very vibrant.

But the pool beyond the outfield fence is kind of cool.

Turner Field (AP)

14. Turner Field, Atlanta Braves: It will be replaced for the 2017 season by SunTrust Park, and I can see why. Turner Field is younger than Coors Field, but it feels much older. It has not been nearly as well maintained. For a team with such great baseball tradition, it’s a lifeless ballpark. It’s very forgettable.

Marlins Park (Barbara P. Fernandez, The New York Times)

13. Marlins Park, Miami Marlins: At first glance, it’s funky and cool. That crazy sculpture/monument thing beyond center field is gaudy, but at least it’s unique.

I know they were going for a South Florida vibe here, but Marlins Park feels cheap, like it’s pieced together out of Lego pieces. There is nothing happening around the park at all.

Nationals Park (Getty)

12. Nationals Park, Washington Nationals: I feel as if I should like this ballpark more than I do, especially considering how much I love visiting Washington D.C. Yet the ballpark feels kind of sterile, and the exterior — with its large parking structures — is not very inviting.

Efforts are being made to liven up the area around the ballpark, but it’s still a work in progress and a bit dead.

I wish they would have incorporated more of Washington into the ballpark — pillars reminiscent of the memorials, etc.

However, a big thumbs up for the Presidents Race. Very cool.

Miller Park (AP file)

11. Miller Park, Milwaukee Brewers: As you might have guessed by now, I’m not a fan of indoor ballparks. I understand the need for it in Milwaukee, but Miller Park still feels like an airplane hanger. Plus, it’s not downtown, so it loses some points for that.

However, the Milwaukee fans are into their team, the tailgating around the ballpark is fantastic, Bernie Brewer’s home-run slide down the slide is terrific and the Racing Sausages are one of the best sideshows in baseball. All in all, a pretty good place to watch baseball.

For those waiting for the Rockies to move shortstop Jose Reyes, the first domino has fallen.

According to a report from CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman, Reyes has cleared waivers, making him eligible to be traded to any team.

It could be much ado about nothing, but Heyman speculates that some teams, including the Yankees, have shown some interest in Reyes. But in order for a trade to happen, the Rockies would have to eat a substantial portion of Reyes’ hefty salary in order to get anything of value in return.

Reyes, 32, doesn’t cover ground at short like he used to, and he’s slumped since being traded to the Rockies from Toronto as part of the Troy Tulowitzki blockbuster last month. Entering Friday night’s game against the Padres, Reyes was hitting .200 (7-for-35) with two RBIs, one double and only two stolen bases.

Troy Tulowitzki circles the bases after hitting a two-run home run in the second inning during his debut for the Blue Jays on Wednesday night against Philadelphia at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. (Tom Szczerbowski, Getty Images)

St. Louis — Troy Tulowitzki’s Toronto debut was must-see TV for the Rockies.

The former Rockies star shortstop homered and also hit two doubles in his first game with the Blue Jays as Toronto hammered the Philadelphia Phillies 8-2 on Wednesday night.

“I was thrilled for Tulo,” manager Walt Weiss said Thursday afternoon. “That’s not an easy situation, but Tulo’s a special player, so it didn’t surprise me to see him do that.”

New Toronto Blue Jays’ shortstop Troy Tulowitzki warms up before making his Blue Jays debut on Wednesday.(Darren Calabrese, The Canadian Press via AP)

The Rockies watched Tulo’s debut before they flew from Chicago to St. Louis on Wednesday night. Tulowitzki, who wore Rockies purple ever since he made his big-league debut on Aug. 30, 2006, was traded to Toronto early Tuesday morning in a blockbuster deal in which the Rockies picked up shortstop Jose Reyes and three pitching prospects.

“I was so happy for him,” said third baseman Nolan Arenado, who’s a close friend of Tulowitzki’s. “He stepped up in a big moment, and that’s what great ballplayers do.”

Second baseman DJ LeMahieu said he expects Tulowitzki, a five-time all-star, to take his game to another level.

“That’s just who he is,” LeMahieu said. “He’s in a pennant race now and I think that he’ll respond. He’s been playing well, but I can see him taking him game to another level.”

Arenado agreed.

“That’s absolutely true,” Arenado said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Tulo do some things that make you stop and say, ‘Wow, I haven’t seen that since he was younger!’ I wouldn’t be surprised by that at all.

“He’s going for the playoffs now, so there is an adrenaline rush. I think he’s going to have fun going to the ballpark every day. That’s the main thing for him, knowing he’s got a chance to compete. That’s what he’s told me he’s always wanted to do, so he’s excited.”

I believe him. Why? Because there are so many pieces to this puzzle: Tulo’s salary; his health; finding a realistic trade partner; and owner Dick Monfort’s willingness to pull the trigger and ship away the face of the franchise.

This is not a done deal, but it’s a key time for the franchise and for Tulo. In many ways, it’s a tipping point. The sooner it’s resolved, the better.

Contrary to what some Rockies fans think, Tulo, 30, likes Denver and he wants to win with the Rockies, but in my opinion, he doesn’t have faith that the Rockies will be ever be a contender while he’s still in his prime.

So, with the Rockies mired in a 10-game losing streak and having won just four times in their last 20 games, it’s no surprise that Tulo trade talk is starting to boil. Yes, it’s true that Tulo and his agent, Paul Cohen, regularly meet when the Rockies are in Los Angeles. But the fact that Joel Sherman, the highly-connected baseball columnist for the New York Post, was able to get Cohen to talk about the trade talks (on the record) is significant. It was a way to get the trade wheels rolling and gauge the Rockies’ reaction.

So now what? Realistically, who might the Rockies talk to about a possible Tulo trade?

The New York Mets top the list. They talked during the offseason about Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez, but the talks didn’t go very far. The Mets need and impact shorstop, and they have some pitching depth they might be willing to deal. There is 2014 National League rookie of the year Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and hot lefty prospect Steven Matz. But the Mets might have trouble absorbing Tulo’s salary, so Colorado might have to eat some of it.

The San Diego Padres appear to be all in to win under GM A.J. Preller, but they are only 17-17 after an extensive offseason makeover and their infield lacks offensive pop. Shortstop Alexi Amarista (.183/.302/.268), second baseman Jedd Gyorko (.215/.279/.329) and third baseman Will Middlebrooks(.194/.245/.337) have been huge disappointments at the plate.

The problem is, the Padres don’t have a lot of pitching depth, and the Rockies will want pitchers in exchange for Tulo.

The Seattle Mariners, expected to contend this season, are stumbling early. Brad Miller, just 25, is finding his way, but his numbers are tame (.239/.304/.380 for a 95 OPS+). As SI.com’s Jay Jaffe pointed out, Miller, along with a young pitcher such as James Paxton or Taijuan Walker could be part of a package deal.

It’s all speculation right now, but the Tulo trade talk heated up much sooner than I expected because the Rockies are playing so poorly.

Major League Baseball announced the umpire crew for this season’s Fall Classic between the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals.

Veteran umpire Jeff Kellogg was named the crew chief and is working his fifth World Series. He will be joined by four World Series first-timers — Hunter Wendelstedt, Jerry Meals, Jim Reynolds and Eric Cooper — as well as Ted Barrett and Jeff Nelson.

Wendelstedt is following in his father’s footsteps. He also wears number 21 to honor his father Harry who called five World Series.

MLB almost always tries to have one new umpire call the Series every season. This year, four guys got the call.

Meals will work home plate for Game 1 and then monitor all replays for the rest of the series. Nelson will man replays for Game 1 and then go to field. Brian O’Nora will also serve as a replay assistant this series, the first in which where expanded video replay is being used in the World Series.

In a statement, commissioner Bud Selig said: “The pace-of-game committee is eager to test various ideas — ranging from the incremental to the dramatic — in order to learn more, and we are fortunate to have a setting in which we can do exactly that. We will work with the appropriate parties — including players, umpires, our partners, our fans and many other contributors to our game — to form effective pace of game recommendations that will fit the major-league level.”

Newly retired Derek Jeter announced about a year ago that he’d transition from ball player to book publisher. On Wednesday, the former Yankee great took that a step further: He’s also a digital publisher.

Jeter launched The Players’ Tribune, a website meant to give athletes a platform to share their “unfiltered” views to fans. Coming from a player who would deflect many of the questions thrown at him, the irony isn’t lost on him.

“I do think fans deserve more than “no comments” or “I don’t knows.” Those simple answers have always stemmed from a genuine concern that any statement, any opinion or detail, might be distorted. I have a unique perspective. Many of you saw me after that final home game, when the enormity of the moment hit me. I’m not a robot. Neither are the other athletes who at times might seem unapproachable. We all have emotions. We just need to be sure our thoughts will come across the way we intend.

“So I’m in the process of building a place where athletes have the tools they need to share what they really think and feel. We want to have a way to connect directly with our fans, with no filter.”

Derek Jeter’s last game as a Yankee will be Sept. 28, against the Red Sox. (Mike Stobe, Getty Images)

New York Times Magazine republished a 1991 scouting report of Derek Jeter, when Yankees scout Dick Groch discovered the scrawny high school junior at a talent identification camp.

The “discovery” happened by accident, really. The Yankees were considering a Stanford outfielder named Jeffrey Hammonds and a right-handed pitcher Jim Pittsley as draft picks. But Groch was in the area and decided to stop at this camp “to break up the day.”

And then he saw Jeter, a 159-pound shortstop from Kalamazoo, Mich.

“A Yankee!,” Groch wrote in his report. “A five-tool player. Will be a (major league) star. +5!!”

A year later, a Colorado Rockies scout took notice of the high school shortstop. “This guy is special,” the Rockies report read. “You get excited just watching him warm up. All-Star potential at MLB level.”

The Rockies had the 27th pick in the 1992 draft that year and never had a shot at getting Jeter. The Yankees swooped him up at No. 6. Rockies chose John Burke, a Colorado-born pitcher who pitched only 10 career games.

But now, more than 22 years, five World Series titles, 14 all-star appearances and five Gold Gloves later, it seem both scouts nailed their analyses of Jeter.

It’s all speculation for now, but the word is spreading in baseball circles that Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd might consider leaving the Rockies for a front-office position with the Atlanta Braves if John Hart takes over as Braves’ full-time general manager. O’Dowd worked under Hart in Cleveland before coming to the Rockies.

MLB announced Monday that Commissioner Bud Selig has conducted a conference call with a new committee that will study the issue of pace of game. The goals of the committee will focus on decreasing time of game and improving the overall pace of play in the 2015 regular season and beyond.

That’s not just my opinion, it’s the viewpoint of Rangers all-star third baseman Adrian Beltre, who’s been selected to his fourth Midsummer Classic.

“No doubt he’ll be an all-star,” Beltre said Monday afternoon. “He’s not here because he got hurt. Everything you want in a player, he has. Defensively, he’s unbelievable, Offensively, he’s doing better that he was last year.

Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox hits a two-run homer against the Tampa Bay Rays during the sixth inning on April 27, 2014 at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. (David Banks, Getty Images)

Jose Abreu’s assault on the major-league rookie record book has to have Rockies fans pondering the what-if scenarios.

As colleague Troy E. Renck wrote earlier this month, the Rockies last October were “all in” in their pursuit of the Cuban slugger, who has 10 home runs and 31 RBIs, breaking the previous rookie highs through the end of the April set by future hall of famer Albert Pujols in 2001.

Along with a six-year, $63 million offer, the Rockies tried to sell Abreu on the sky-high numbers a swing like his could produce at hitter-friendly Coors Field. But the White Sox offered more of the numbers Abreu was concerned with ($68 million), so he was off to Chicago.

Patrick, a third-generation Colorado native, is back for his second stint covering the Rockies. He first covered the team from 2005-2009, helping chronicle “Rocktober” in 2007 and also following the team’s playoff run in 2009.

Nick Groke has worked at The Denver Post since 1997, as a sports reporter, city reporter, entertainment writer and digital editor and producer, among other newsroom posts. He also writes regularly about boxing, soccer, MMA and NASCAR.